Exams Can Always Lead to Trouble
by Revolutionary Venom
Summary: I began this story a VERY long time ago, and have always wanted to put it here. Not what you think. Btw, I don't own the Ronins or Warlords or the universe they live in. Just 1 person whom anyone has yet to see
1. Chapter 1

"Ah, finally, my all-around famous pancakes are ready," Cye commented to himself, placing a few of the last pancakes from the stove to the plate on the counter. He turned off the fire, picked up the plate of pancakes, and placed them on the table with the syrup. "There, that should do it. Not many people can pull off a breakfast like this."

On the table were the plate of pancakes, a platter of bacon, about two dozen little sausage links, a pot of coffee for himself, Rowen and Ryo, a pitcher of orange juice for Kento and also himself, and a teapot of, well, tea for Sage.

The young Torrent stuck his head out the kitchen door. "Breakfast is ready!!" he shouted. He then moved away from the door as everyone came through, piling their plates of the food. Well, that is, everyone except one person.

"Hey, where's Kento?" asked Ryo, putting a third pancake on his plate and slipping a sausage to White Blaze. "I thought he was awake already," Sage commented, taking a seat at the kitchen table, pouring tea.

"Didn't see him this morning if he was," Rowen stated, pouring coffee for himself. Cye shrugged. "I'll go see if he's awake-"

"No need to, I'm right here."

Everyone turned to the door to see Kento, still in his night shirt and soft blue sweatpants, looking exhausted. "Where've you been?" asked Rowen, sitting at the island countertop. "Yeah buddy, it's not like you to sleep in late," Ryo commented. "You feelin' okay?" Kento yawned. "Just got up late, that's all and yes, I'm fine," he answered, taking his own seat at the table. Sage came around and looked down at Hardrock. Kento looked up at him. "What?" he asked, rubbing sleep out of one of his eyes.

Sage answered by placing his hand on the warrior's forehead. "Doesn't seem to have a fever," Halo stated, taking his hand away. "You're not using your armor's power to control your temperature, are you?"

"We can do that?" Kento asked. He smiled. "I'm fine, I just stayed up later than I thought I would."

"What were you doing anyway?" Cye asked. "When I turned out my light, you were still in the study."

Kento didn't answer.

"C'mon, you can tell us," Ryo said, stuffing a pancake in his mouth.

"Promise you won't laugh?" Hardrock asked, crossing his arms. The others nodded, curious as to what would be so funny about him staying up late.

"I was studying."

3....

2....

1....

Ryo, Rowen, and Sage burst out laughing. Rowen laughed so hard that tears were streaming down his face and tea shot out of Sage's nose.  
"You guys said you wouldn't laugh!" Kento exclaimed, looking upset. "It's not _that_ funny," Cye said, cleaning up the tea on the table that had been shot from Sage's nose. Halo picked up his napkin and wiped his face off as he and the others calmed down.

"C'mon guys, I've got exams coming up soon," Hardrock told them, hoping they would understand. "Since Rowen's got an IQ of like, a thousand, he doesn't need to study. Sage gets good grades in everything, Ryo only needs to study Geometry, and Cye doesn't even have to take them! But I really need to pass, I work really hard, saving the world with all of you _and_ still working hard enough to pull off B's in class, I've _gotta_ do better if I want to pass the exams!"

The others looked at him in shock about this outburst. Then the faces of Wildfire, Halo and Strata grew remorseful, even regretful for laughing. "Sorry buddy, we didn't know that you had to work so hard for your grades," Ryo apologized.

"Hey, if you want, I can even help you study," Rowen offered. Kento smiled. "You would Rowen? Really?"

Rowen shrugged. "Why not? If you needed the help, you should've just asked."

Kento grinned from ear to ear, jumped up, and trapped Strata in a bear hug. "Thank you thank you thank you!" the excited warrior exclaimed, his hold on the fighter of air a _little_ too tight.

"Kento....can't breathe...." Rowen said. "Sorry buddy," Kento apologized, releasing his hold on the fragile teen.....

_**%%%%%%%%%%%%%%**_

__Four figures observed the Ronins on a viewing screen in the throne room of the newly constructed castle, one of the people sitting on their throne.

"...So you see, we need him, for he has a treasure, a special power that is great, if not just as powerful, than that of Inferno," the creature on the throne told the other three males watching the screen.

"Does he know that he possesses this power?" a snaky character asked, running his fingers through his silky hair.

"I'm not entirely sure if he is indeed aware of these powers, but if he is, then he must be destroyed," the creature on the throne declared.

"But...what if the boyo _isn't_ aware of these powers mistress?" the second figure asked, running a finger down his face, a familiar cross-shaped scar over his eye.

"Then he must be destroyed anyway," she said, crossing her legs as she settled into the seat of power. "But we must first find out what he can or cannot do with this treasure."

The third character continued to watch the screen, unsure if this was true at all. _He never before had such powers, _the figure thought. _Why would he now?_

"Dais? Is something the matter?"

The warlord of Illusion turned to the shadowy demoness, bowing slightly. "I just don't understand mistress," he answered.

"What's there to understand?" the demoness asked, anger beginning to tone into her voice as she steepled her fingers. "I'm telling you to capture the whelp and find out what you can! How difficult is that?!"

Dais' eye flashed with shock, but instantly went back to a normal status. "It's just...he's never shown any powers before, why would he now? I-"

Electricity shot up from the floor and captured the illusionist, causing him to fall to his knees, screaming in pain. "YOU WILL NOT QUESTION MY AUTHORITY DAIS!!" the female creature roared. The electricity captured the warlord in a ball of light and both light and man, vanished.

"Any other oppositions my warlords?"

"No, we're good."

_*****************************_

Breakfast had ended and lunch had passed, leaving the Ronins a lazy afternoon to do whatever they....

"YOWWWWWWWW!!!!!!"

Okay, the writer lied! Maybe not _too_ lazy. Ryo had declared that there would be a training session that afternoon, even if Kento complained that he needed to study.

Why did they need to have a training session? Ryo wouldn't tell them. When they asked, he answered, "Just to keep our fighting skills sharp."

Cye sat on the ground, placing a hand on the back of his head. "What're you trying to do Rowen? Crack my head open?"

"Sorry buddy, I thought you could avoid that one," Strata answered, offering a hand to the warrior in the dirt. He helped Cye stand, Torrent rubbing the back of his head.

"I think you hit him harder than you meant to Ro," Sage declared, coming up behind the water warrior, inspecting the injured warrior's scalp. "He's bleeding back here."

Ryo and Kento joined the trio and looked at the back of Cye's head. "Geez Ro, you _really_ did a number on him," Wildfire commented, seeing the bloody back of the warrior's cranium.

"God Cye, I'm sorry, I really didn't mean to hit you that hard, I honestly thought you could've avoided that," Strata apologized. "It's okay Rowen, you didn't mean to-" Cye started, but a wave of dizziness washed over him and his knees buckled, collapsing underneath him. Fortunately, Kento caught him before he hit the ground and helped him sit down.

Sage knelt next to the duo in the dirt, placing his hands on the injured area of Cye's scalp. "Just relax now Cye," he said gently, as he began to glow a brilliant emerald color. Torrent whimpered a little as he also began to emanate colors, but these were that of his own armor color. "It's okay little buddy, everything's okay," Kento assured him, gripping his hand. Ryo sat next to Sage, watching as Halo healed Torrent.

A few moments later, the colors faded away and Sage removed his hands, revealing the now healed spot, but he was panting slightly. His subarmor began to fade out and seconds later, he was left in normal attire. "You okay Sage?" asked Strata, kneeling. "I just needed to use a little more power than I thought I would have to," Halo answered. "I'm fine, I just need to rest for a while."

"Let's stop for today," Ryo said, helping Sage stand, the others rising to their feet as well. "I think we've had enough training for awhile-"

"Have you really, Ronins?"

A chill descended down the spines of the five warriors upon hearing that familiar voice. The each turned and looked behind them to see....

"Anubius, quit hoggin' the spotlight!" Secmet exclaimed, appearing behind him, followed by Kale. "I just wanted to make a grand entrance, is that a bad thing?" asked the Warlord of Cruelty

"But...what...how?" Ryo tried to ask, pointing at the youngest warlord, but had trouble forming the words into a sentence. "Oh, naive Wildfire, there _are_ ways to make those of the Nether realm return to life," said Kale.

"Cut the crap, let's just attack them!" Anubius shouted, jumping into the air and threw his chain towards the five Ronins. "Scatter!" Ryo shouted, the five dodging the chains. However, because of the energy that Halo had just lost, he jumped too late and was still hit by the business end of the chain. He fell to the ground, fading into unconsciousness.

"Sage!" the others exclaimed.

"QUAKE WITH FEAR!!!!"

As Rowen, Ryo, and Cye were being held captive by the chains, Kento had managed to keep out of the way so he could rescue Sage, who was now hanging limply by his arms and legs in the chains. He managed to get next to the unconscious Ronin and was pulling him out carefully, one limb at a time.

After a few moments, Hardrock had finally freed Halo from his prison, carrying him in his arms, when suddenly, the warrior moaned. Kento stopped, lowering Sage to the ground, and helped him sit up.

Halo half-opened his eyes and looked up to his savior. "Kento...?" he asked weakly. "Hey, it's okay, you're all right now," Kento told him, smiling a little. Sage's eyes looked upwards, "Kento...behind you...."

Hardrock turned just in time to be bashed hard in the head by the business end of Kale's sword. He fell back, dropping Sage, who in turn was picked up by the Warlord of Corruption. Pressing the sword up to Halo's neck, he spoke.

"Give up now Hardrock, or you won't see Halo alive again," Secmet hissed, appearing next to Kale. "Hey, that was my line!" Corruption protested.

"Don't do it Kento," Sage weakly said, who was on the verge of passing out again. Kento sat up, looking at Sage. "Buddy, I can't," he answered, shaking his head.

"Don't give up just because of what he says he'll do, it's not worth it-" Then Halo was lost into another reality as his eyes suddenly drooped shut and his body went limp.

"Listen to Sage, Kento!" Rowen exclaimed, the trio still trying to free themselves. "They just want the armor, that's all they've ever wanted!"

"Oh, shut up!!!" The three warlords shouted. Then, they turned back to Kento, who now stood before the trio.

Hardrock wiped away the blood that was running from his hairline into his eyes. "What is it you want? It's obviously not Inferno, or else you would've put Ryo in this situation," Kento said. "So why do you want Sage?"

The warlords laughed. "Whoever said we were going after Halo?" asked Secmet.

"What?"

"Why go after a weak, new born kitten when we can get a powerful, full grown tiger?" asked Anubius. "Now answer us, will you or will you not give up? You know what will happen if you don't."

Kento sighed, crossed one arm across his chest, and willed his subarmor away.

"No!! Don't do it!! It's a trap!!!" the other three Ronins were exclaiming. Kento ignored them, knowing he was doing the right thing. "Let Sage go, I'm the one you want, right?"

"Kento!! Don't do it!!" Ryo shouted.

Kale threw Halo across the yard. "I didn't think it would be that easy," he said. "Now what do we do?"

"This!" Secmet shouted, bringing out his six swords. "SNAKE..."

"Kento! Get out of there!" Cye pleaded.

"...FANG..."

"Please Kento, run! Get away!" Rowen shouted.

"...STRIKE!!"

"KENTO!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Ryo yelled, just as the attack connected.

Hardrock roared in pain as he was hit by Secmet's Snake Fang Strike attack. When the attack had ended, the warrior of earth fell to his knees, then face first on the ground, barely making any movement.

"KENTO!!" Ryo roared, who was fighting even harder to get free, tears streaming down his face. Cye just stared in shock at his best friend, tears also descending. Rowen, who was now completely pissed off because the warlords had done two of his friends in, was struggling even more-so to get out.

Anubius walked over to the unconscious Ronin, picking him up by the back collar of his shirt, also taking the crystal that held the kanji of 'Justice' from one of Kento's pocket. "This is a nice start of our collection," Secmet commented. "Do you think the mistress will appreciate this being with us?"

Kale shrugged. "Probably, considering we just won the battle."

"LET KENTO GO!!!"

The warlords looked up to the three hanging Ronins. "Sorry, but Hardrock's coming with us," Anubius said. "We've got plans for him." With that, the three vanished with the benumbed warrior, the chains following them.

The remaining conscious Ronins fell from where they were hanging to the ground. "This can't be happening..." Cye softly whispered, falling to his hands and knees, tears streaming. When Rowen hit the ground, he ran towards Sage to check on him.

Ryo, however, took his emotions out on the closest tree he could find.

He began punching a tree rapidly, tears and flakes of bark flying the whole time. _Why couldn't we help him?!_ his mind screamed. _Why?!?!__ Why, why, why?!_

And he kept smashing at the helpless tree until no more tears could fall....


	2. Chapter 2

Sorry about no intro at the beginning of the last chapter. This is my first story on , so I'm still working out the kinks ._.

Anyway, I hope you guys liked the first chapter, and continue to like the rest of my tale =3

Notes: From what I understand, a gi robe is like a kimono top. And I didn't know how to write it out, so I just wrote "gi robe". Sorry. Originally, I had "kimono styled robe" because I didn't know how/what it was called/how to phrase it.

Disclaimer: I don't own the Ronin Warriors. Wish I did though D=

Hardrock began to slip out of unconsciousness and back into the real world. _Oi…huh? What happened?_ he thought. He looked around himself and noticed that wherever he was, was in pitch-black darkness. _Where the heck am I?_

While he was trying to figure out where he was, he noticed something was _very _wrong when he felt the icy floor of the room he was in.

He wasn't wearing his subarmor. Nor was the orb in his possession.

Kento began to frantically search for his crystal when a sword suddenly thrust itself in front of him. "Looking for something?" a familiar voice asked.

"What do you want Kale?" Kento asked, a little fear in his voice. "I can see that you're frightened Hardrock," the Warlord of Corruption answered, putting an armored foot on Kento's back and stomping him into the ground.

Kento gritted his teeth, not wanting Kale to get any satisfaction from his torture, but he could feel his ribs weren't taking it very well. _Oh God..._

Suddenly, Secmet flew out of the darkness and slammed a knife into Kento's side. Hardrock roared in pain. "Tell us about the power you've been hiding boy," Secmet hissed.

"What...power?" Kento spat between his teeth, eyes tightly shut, tears of pain forming. "You know what we're talking about boyo," Kale said, while Secmet twisted the knife, tears pouring from Kento's eyes.

"Yes Hardrock, you know of what we speak," a new voice said. Kale removed his sword and his foot as Anubius appeared in front of Kento. "Tell us!" Anubius yelled, grabbing Kento by the hair and lifting him up to make eye contact. "If you tell us now, we'll set you free."

_What the hell _are_ they talking about? What power?_

Frustrated, Secmet ripped the knife out of Hardrock's side, causing the teen to cry out. "Fine," Kale said, Anubius letting go of Kento. He fell face-first to the floor, only to be pulled up by chains that wrapped themselves around his wrists. The chains connected themselves to a place on the ceiling and left Kento dangling, helpless.

"If you won't tell us about it, we'll just have to torture you until you do," Kale told him. "Electrocution with the dark energies will be a good way to start." Secmet finished up what they were going to do. "And if that doesn't work, we'll just have to keep at it. Until you decide to confess, you'll be wishing you were dead."

Dark electricity shot down through the chains and began its work on the warrior. Kento screamed in excruciating pain, wishing that it would end. "There, we'll just leave you there for awhile, then see if you change your mind," Kale told him. Kento only continued to roar in agonizing pain....

_*****************************_

Sage bolted upright, breathing heavily. _What was that? _he thought, trying to calm himself of the shaking his body was now doing. _It was too real to be a nightmare....almost as if it were a vision....._

"You know, you really shouldn't be up just yet," a familiar voice chimed. Sage looked to the doorway of the room he and Rowen shared to see Ryo standing there. He, in turn, walked casually over to Halo's bed and sat, facing the warrior.

"Feeling any better?"

Sage nodded slowly. "I just had the strangest nightmare," he said. "Kento gave himself up and the warlords took him away from us, torturing him...but it was a just a nightmare, right?" He smiled a little. "I bet Kento's downstairs right now, playing his video games or bugging Cye in the kitchen."

Ryo just stared at him with sad, full of sorrow eyes. Halo's smile faded, eyes growing wide as he realized the truth.

"It...it actually happened....didn't it?"

"...Yes..."

"The warlords cornered him....and took him away?"

Ryo looked as if he were about to cry. "...Yeah...."

Sage clenched the sheets of his bed tightly, tears beginning to form. "Oh God, this is all my fault......if I hadn't allowed myself to get so weak to where I couldn't wear the armor.....this wouldn't have happened...."

"Don't even think that Sage," Ryo told him. "You were healing Cye, even if you hadn't of done so or had waited a few minutes more, they would've used him instead of you and they still would've taken Kento away."

A chord then struck in Sage. He looked back up to Ryo. "Is Cye okay?" he asked, forgetting that he had fully healed him.

Wildfire nodded. "Except for the fact that Kento's been captured, he's fine," he said. "Rowen's okay too, the warlords didn't hurt him."

"Where is he?" asked Halo. "In bed," Ryo responded, looking across the room at Strata's occupied bed, then back at Sage. "He fell asleep while he was waiting for you to wake up, so I put him in his bed." He didn't mention the fact that Rowen too, had been sobbing for their captured comrade. "Cye's been out like a light for a good while now."

"I take it he cried himself to sleep?" Ryo only nodded.

Sage pulled his knees up, lightly wrapping his arms around them. "I-I just can't...can't believe it...he's gone...." The walls crumbled to pieces as tears began to fall.

Ryo came closer to Halo and wrapped his arms around him in a hug. "It's okay Sage, we'll get him back, somehow or another," Wildfire softly assured him. Halo cried, Ryo rubbing his back to help reassure him.....

_It's so cold...._Kento thought as he lay on his side, on the stone floor, trembling. Kale, Anubius, and Secmet had thrown him into a cell a while ago, bored with him. They hadn't gotten any answers out of him for whatever it was they were looking for, so they just decided to throw him into the cell.

Summoning all the strength that Hardrock had left in him, he tried to sit up, just so he could at least turn over onto his back. But, in mid-try, he felt a sword of pain stab the area that Secmet had slammed his knife into, that, plus another area that Anubius had decided to plunge the business end of his kusuri-gama, fell back on his side, moaning a little.

_God, it hurts. _

_Why do they even want me? I'm not of any use to them. I don't have any special powers like Sage, Cye, or Rowen, and I _definitely _don't have a powerful armor, so why do they torture me without killing me off? _

A wave of sleepiness washed over the injured warrior. As his eyes began to close, he suddenly snapped them back open. _No, I can't go to sleep now, the others are probably worried sick, and I can't just die on them...but..._

_What if they're not looking for me? I mean, they don't even have the slightest clue where I could be. _I_ don't even know where I am!_ _I don't even know how long I've been here...._

His eyes were drooping, everything blurring in and out of focus.

_Damn....can't even see straight....now what do I do? _

Suddenly, Kento felt someone turn him onto his back and scoop him gently up into their arms. Hardrock turned his head upwards to look at the person, forcing his eyes to stay open.

At first, he thought it was Cye. "Cye?" he asked quietly. But his vision focused, revealing the true identity of who was in the same cell.

"Dais?" he asked weakly, terrified. He tried to get out of his arms by squirming, but he was too weak to do very much.

"Calm yourself Hardrock," Dais told him, carrying the injured warrior to a corner of the dark cell. Kento felt himself being lowered onto something warm and soft. "I don't want to hurt you," Dais said, taking a bag off his shoulder and putting it on the ground. "At least not right now." He took a blanket out of the bag and covered the shivering warrior with it. "I know it's not a very thick blanket, but it will keep you warm," Dais told Kento, who was trying to figure something out.

"Why are you...helping me?" Kento asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

Dais looked down at him, laying two fingers on the warrior's lips. "First off, you don't need to talk. The others are asleep and you've lost a lot of blood," he told the injured warrior. "You'll just be wasting energy on small talk. And to answer your question, I'm not sure. Something is telling me to help you, but for what reason I don't know. And I don't know what they are talking about when they ask you to tell them about 'the power'."

"So...you know why..." Kento started, but Dais finished. "What did I tell you about talking?" He paused, bringing a second blanket out and covering the injured fighter with it. "Anyway, they want me to join in tomorrow, but I really don't want to, because I don't even know why they want you."

Dais reached into his bag and pulled out some food. He helped Kento sit up a little and held a small bite of food to Kento's lips. Hardrock looked down weakly at the food in his palm. "Open," Dais ordered. When Kento didn't open his mouth, he talked. "You can trust me now Hardrock, I really have no intention of hurting you at this point in time."

"How do I know-?"

"-If this is a trick?" Dais sighed as he finished Kento's sentence. "Look, if I wanted to poison you, I would've just let Secmet do it with his envenomed swords. He's the one who gets a kick out of poisoning people and whatever he can get his scales on."

Kento still didn't open his mouth. "Please," Dais asked. "If not for yourself, eat for your friends. They've been looking for you and are hoping that you're still alive."

"They're....looking for me?" Kento asked tiredly.

Dais nodded. "And if you're going to ask how I know, I've been observing them since the other three captured you yesterday. Your friends were crying for you, Hardrock. Since they pulled themselves together this morning, they've started looking for you."

_I made them cry…guys, I'm sorry…and they've been looking for me. They don't even have a clue where I am...but they're still trying....then I have to stay alive._

Hardrock opened his mouth and Dais placed the food in the teen's mouth, placing two fingers under the injured warrior's chin, and closing his mouth. "Chew," Dais encouraged. He had a hard time, but Kento managed to finally chew and swallow the small piece of food, exhausted.

Dais got some more and held it once again to the warrior's lips. Kento turned his head into Dais' shoulder, too tired to try. "Please eat, you need to get your strength back," Dais urged. Kento looked back up to him and opened his mouth. Dais smiled and slid it into his mouth, repeating the process twice more.

Hardrock chewed the food, but the third time, he settled his head against the Warlord of Illusions' chest after swallowing.

Dais adjusted the weak teen in his arms. "Rest for a moment, then you need to try to eat a little more," the old warlord told him. For a few moments, he just sat there with Kento, waiting for him to gather his energy up to eat again. But he felt something dampen his gi robe. He looked down at the weakened warrior and felt remorse for him.

Kento had buried his face into Dais' shirt, tears making their way down his face.

Dais stroked Hardrock's hair a little. "What's troubling you?" he asked, even though he already knew what was bothering him.

Kento shook his head. "I-I can't really...'splain it..." he weakly tried to say, his words beginning to slur. "S'ard to...'splain......."

The warlord gently laid the injured warrior back onto the blankets and covered him back up. "Will you allow me to touch your mind?" he asked.

Kento looked confused. "I'm simply going to read what it is that you want to explain, but can't," Dais explained. "It's something I've been able to do since before I can remember."

The hurt fighter thought for a moment, then slowly nodded. The Warlord of Illusions placed his fingertips upon Kento's brow, and instantly was hit with emotions that he hadn't felt in centuries.

Confusion....

Concern for his fellow warriors....

And most of all three...

_Fear_

Not the kind of fear that most adolescents at his age would experience either, such as acceptance in the world, but more...innocent. Like a small child's phobia, such as the monsters in one's closet, or demons under the bed.

Kento's fears were numerous: for his friends, his family, himself.....especially himself. Hardrock was petrified that he would never get to see any of his friends again, or that he would never get to see the sun set or rise again, or get in touch with his element, the earth....

Dais pulled his fingertips away and looked down at the warrior, wondering why he couldn't see any more thoughts/images.

The warrior had fallen unconscious.

Sighing slightly, Dais put an illusion spell on the blankets, so if the other warlords decided to make an unscheduled visit, they wouldn't be able to see them, and then made his way out of the cell......

Please Review! I always appreciate criticism =D


	3. Chapter 3

3rd chapter is up! HUZZAH. I think I'm starting to work the kinks of fanfiction worked out now =D But bear with me please as I work

Disclaimer: I don't own the Ronin Warriors. Never have, never will

Kento began to stir from a deep sleep that he had been in when he heard yelling. _Where's all that shouting coming from? _He wondered. He looked over to the cell door, but saw nothing. To conduct a closer investigation, he summoned what strength was left in him and crawled away from the warm blankets, over to the bars. Pulling himself up, he looked out and saw out of the corner of his eye, Kale "talking" to Dais.

"Why won't you hurt him?" asked the wearer of Corruption, slamming Dais against the wall again. "I don't even know why you want him here in the first place!" Dais finally shouted back. "It's against my code to hurt anyone if I don't know what it's for. Even when Talpa was around, at least I knew why I fought the Ronins."

"Well, it's about time you got rid of the code boyo," Kale said, shoving Dais against the wall one final time before turning to leave. "If you don't at least join in sometime during Hardrock's torture tomorrow, I will personally rip your throat out with my claws."

From what Kento had just seen, Dais didn't look to happy or scared about Kale's threat. But who would be happy after being threatened by the Warlord of Corruption?

"Why are you up Hardrock?"

Kento looked up to see Dais. "You're a sneaky guy," the warrior said weakly. "Din't even see you come up." Dais just shook his head, opened up the door and helped Hardrock up. "C'mon, I think it's time for you to get back to sleep," he told him, helping the injured warrior back to the warm bed of blankets.

As Dais pulled the blankets to Kento's chin, he spoke. "I guess now I'll have to torture you Hardrock. I really don't want to, but I'll try to keep it to a minimum."

Kento just yawned, and closed his eyes. With Dais sitting by his side, stroking his hair to coax him into sleep, he began to drift into the land of dreams. But as he did, he also felt something that he hadn't felt since he was first brought to the new castle.

He felt safe.

-----------------------------------------------

Ryo marked another big "X", on the map on the table in front of him. They had begun searching for any possible ways to get into the Nether Realm, such as a Dynasty gate that hadn't necessarily disappeared, or a weakened spot in the barriers, since yesterday, but no such luck had come to them.

_We're running out of options and ideas, _Ryo thought, sulking a bit in his chair. _And this is the second day that we've been looking...Kento, wherever those bastards are holding you, I pray that you're safe. I don't know what any of us would do if you weren't._

"Am I interrupting something?"

Ryo looked over to the stove to see Cye, making tea. _Guess I didn't hear him come in, _Wildfire thought. "Not really, just marking off another spot that we investigated today," he answered.

Cye sighed and poured himself some of the tea he had just made.

_Poor guy,_ thought Ryo._ He can't handle this sort of thing. Last time Kento was captured, Cye and Sage were with him, and they knew that everything would be okay. But now...._

Torrent took a seat at the table, next to Ryo. "Any luck today?" Cye asked quietly.

Ryo shook his head. "There's not a trace of anything in any of the places we've been to," he answered. "There's just gotta be someplace that we're not thinking of, some place where the barrier's weak."

Cye just stared down at his cup, hands trembling. "Something horrible's happening to him," he said, his voice choking a little. Ryo looked up to him. "What makes you say that?" Wildfire asked. Cye took a breath before explaining.

"Kento and I met when we were kids, and since then, we've had some kind of...bond, I guess, I can't really describe it. I just know when something's wrong with him and vice-

versa, emotional wise, whether we're far apart or right next to each other.

"What they're doing to him now it.....it's awful. His emotional scale is off balance, so I can't tell _what_ they're doing, and I know he's scared out of his mind, but somehow, he also feels a little safe. I hope he truly is unharmed......"

-------------------------------

Kento was awakened once again when he felt someone lift him up by his shirt collar. Or, at least, what was left of it. "Wake up you little whelp!"

*SLAP SLAP!*

_Figures,_ Kento thought. _It's just _gotta_ be Kale who wakes me up_. Hardrock looked up at the Warlord of Corruption. "What do you want now? You threw me in here only a few hours ago," he managed to say, in a bit stronger voice than he'd been able to use in a long time.

Kale just laughed. "Maybe so, but we have a new idea that will guarantee that you'll tell us about the powers you hold."

It happened so fast. One moment they were in the cell, the next, Kento was shackled down to a table by his wrists, ankles, and neck, two warlords on either side of the table.

Kento struggled against the restraints, but because of the blood he had lost and the injuries he had sustained, he was too weak to put up much of a fight.

"That oughta hold you, little wretch," Secmet stated, pulling out the knife that he had stabbed Kento with the first day he had been there. It was still covered in his blood, which probably meant that Secmet had some sort of sick idea.

Kento just stared up at him. "Let's have some fun, shall we?" Secmet said, an evil glint appearing in his beady eyes.

Secmet traced the knife along Kento's sternum, and then the pain began. The Warlord of Venom began etching the symbol for 'Snake' onto the teenager's chest, the younger warrior gritting his teeth to keep from crying out in pain, but eventually, he did scream.

When Venom was finished, Hardrock was left panting heavily. "Now will you tell us?" Secmet asked cruelly. Kento acted like he was thinking about it, when in fact, he still didn't have a clue as to what they were talking about.

"Let's see, you're torturing me, when you _could've_ just said please," Kento said sarcastically, trying not to let any pain sound in his voice. "So no, I won't."

"YOU SON OF A WHORING BITCH!!!" Anubius shouted, drawing his kusuri-gama. "I'LL SEND YOU TO THE BOWELS OF HELL!!!" He was about to plunge the scythe end of the weapon into Kento's heart when Dais grabbed his arm. "Don't!" he exclaimed. "Don't forget Anubius, we're not supposed to kill him."

"Can I AT LEAST hurt him?!" the youngest warlord asked. Kale shrugged. "Whatever fills your saké cup," he said.

Anubius smiled a cruel and unusual smile, even for him.

The look on this man's face filled Hardrock with fear. _What the _HELL'S _this guy gonna do? By the look on his face, it would be..._

Kento's eyes filled with horror. He had recognized that face from the Sleepy Hollow movie, when the swordsman took the stepmother and rode off.

Anubius looked sadistic.

_Oh God, not _that_, anything but that! _Kento's mind pleaded. Anubius climbed up onto the table, straddling Kento's thighs.

_God no!_ Anubius was really going to do it, Kento soon realized as the evil warrior was handed the bloody dagger from Secmet and began to slowly try and cut off Hardrock's jeans.

Kento's eyes widened with horror and fear, as the breath he held was stuck in his chest.

_Please, somebody! Anybody! _His eyes shut tightly, tears forming out of pure fear.

_HELP ME!!!!!!!!!!!!_

"Stop it Anubius!"

Kento opened his eyes a little to see Dais' armor clad arm, blocking Anubius from doing what he wanted. "Why? The little warrior deserves a lesson," the youngest warlord complained, crossing his arms with the dagger still in his hand, but not moving from his....position.

"Raping the Ronin until he tells us what we want to know is _not_ the most sensible thing to do Anubius," Dais scowled.  
"He does have a point y'know," Kale said, casually scratching some place on his neck. "I actually didn't think about what would happen to the boyo if we did let you do it, but now that I'm thinking about it, I can't let you do it."

Anubius sat for a second, then just hopped off the table, as if nothing had happened.

"So be it," he finally said....

-------------------------------

Kento laid half-unconscious, on his back, of the bed of blankets that Dais had provided. Fresh wounds covered his chest and he now sported a black eye. The carving that was now on Hardrock's chest was beginning to slow in bleeding. Pain racked every nerve of his body. Chills traveled through him, causing him to shiver.

Dais looked at him through the bars and felt something he hadn't in a long time. Something that reminded him of times past, of his own life that he had before and, up until recently, forgotten.

He pushed the feelings aside, remembering that he had someone to take care of. He opened the door to the cell, entered, and closed the door behind him. The noise of the door caused Kento to rouse enough to look at Dais. "Hnh?"

Dais made his way and sat by Kento's side, removing the bag off his shoulder. "Don't try to talk or move," he said, pulling out some cloths from the bag. He brought it to the carving on the warrior's chest, but not before applying some medicine to the cloth.

Kento whimpered a little as Dais brought the medicined fabric up to the injured one's sternum. "Hush Hardrock, it's just a little medicine that will help your wound from getting infected," Dais explained, bringing another cloth to Kento's mouth and stuffed it, so Hardrock's screams wouldn't be heard. "It's going to sting, so be prepared."

Then he applied the pressure necessary to the blood-gushing wound.

Kento howled into the cloth, biting down _hard_ as he screamed into the sound-absorbing cloth. He roared out in pain because the medicine in the cloth felt like someone had just stuck a knife in the wound. He screamed as Dais slowed the bleeding and applied the bandages. Kento finally stopped when his throat felt raw, like he had been crying out for, what seemed like, an eternity.

The Warlord of Illusions helped Kento sit up, pulled the cloth out of Hardrock's mouth and pressed a flask of water to his lips, allowing the warrior to drink. As the younger fighter drank, Dais talked.

"I'm sorry that it stung so much, but it will be necessary for the healing. When you go back, that wound will heal faster. It won't leave a scar either. That's why it has to sting a lot." He pulled the flask away from Hardrock's lips to let the warrior get a breath in.

Kento shuddered and curled up against the older warrior. "Why'd.....'Nubuis want to...do that?" he asked weakly, his speech slurring somewhat.

Dais shook his head, resting his cheek in Kento's hair. "I really have no idea why he wanted to pull a stunt like that," he said. "I'm sorry that he tried to do that to you, and if he tries to do something like that again, then I don't care what happens to me, I'll do anything I can to protect you."

Kento struggled to try and look up at the warlord. "W-why?"

Dais smiled softly. "You remind me of my own son when I used to live back in the feudal ages," he answered. "He wasn't much older than any of you Ronins when he died."

"W-what happened?" asked the hurt, curious warrior. Dais laid Hardrock back on the blankets, pulling the blankets up to his shoulders.

Then he began his story.

"He was training to become a warrior, to wear the armor after me. My sole duty back then was to guard the village I lived in, and my son was the heir to the Armor of Illusions.

"Everyday, the two of us would train in all the skills necessary to wear this armor. Fighting, endurance, strength, whatever was needed. My son was also an expert with illusions, just like I am. He had a kind heart, he knew what he was fighting for, even if I didn't always know or like what it was. But whatever it was, it was always the right thing. I often suspected him of being more qualified for the Hardrock armor myself, but your ancestor Reinhart, knew that my son was ultimately destined for the life of illusions."

"You knew my ancestors?" Kento asked weakly, somewhat surprised by this.

"Course I did," Dais answered. "I was not a warlord to begin with, there were only guardians back then. Reinhart, your ancestor, was a good friend of mine who guarded a nearby village, which so happened to be by the mountains. Anyway, where was I?"

"You....w-were saying that....you n' your son trained," Kento managed to say. Dais only nodded, continuing where he left off.

"Anyway, it was like that up until he turned 16. Back then, boys were considered men when they reached that age.

"It happened the day before he was to be granted the armor.

"Rogue bandits, guided by a horrendously strong demon, came and attacked our village. Reinhart happened to be in the village at the time, so he was helping me defend it. My son, who was trying to protect my wife and younger daughter, was killed. Then, the bandits..."

Tears built in the warlord's single eye. "They raped my wife and daughter, burned them alive, cut off their legs, arms, and heads. By the time I found them, I was too late to do anything.

"My son, before-hand, had tried to ensnare the demon in an illusion, but the demon could see straight through it. He ran a sword through my son and left him to die...I saw the whole thing, and when I reached him, all he could do was say one thing before he died."

His voice was choking up, a tear running down the warlord's face.

"All he said was, 'I'm sorry', and then he was gone. Then...I'm not sure what happened next, but I remember Reinhart waking me up and saying that the demon had been killed. Turned out, I had gotten so mad that _I _had done the deed. I had killed the demon.

"What made everything worse was I found Talpa shortly after. Now that I think back, I don't remember why I joined, and.....Reinhart, my best friend, and the descendants of his who wore the armor, were destined to fight in battle with me, not as allies, but enemies, from that point on."

Kento just stared at him, seeing the tears that flowed from Dais' eye. " 'M s-sorry Dais,"

the warrior said. "Don't be, it was before your time," the warlord told him, looking at the young fighter, wiping away his tears. "Let me take a look at the rest of those wounds.".....

----------------------------------------

I actually did a Google search for the kanji symbol for "Snake"; it looked like it would hurt if done awhile in skin, so I thought I'd edit it back in there. It was better than what I originally had anyway *shrugs*

And when I originally wrote that scene with Anubius and the dagger, my friend read it and asked, "What were you on?" ^^; Of course, it was his kusuri-gama he was using before I changed it…


	4. Chapter 4

Hello again! This is probably going to be the longest chapter of the story; when I was putting it together on Microsoft Word, I couldn't find a place to split it where it wouldn't make a short chapter, so I just put it all together

Oh! By the way, you guys get to see my character Mika in this chapter! Not giving anything else out besides that! Well, and she's not a reoccurring character, so this is the only time you'll see her

/_memories_/

(_speaking through the armor)_

Disclaimer: Don't own the Ronin Warriors. Never have, never will.

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Cye curled up on Kento's bed, snuggling into the pillow. He missed his best friend. It was killing young Torrent to know that Hardrock was among the warlords and what he had felt earlier hadn't helped much either_. _

_What were they doi_ng _to you my friend? _he thought, hugging the pillow tightly_. For a moment, I felt all the fear that a person could ever have, plus some. What were they doing to you that would make all that fear gather into one giant entity_, _then just…vanish?_

Truth was, Torrent had even heard his friend's cry for help. The bond Cye and Kento shared had kicked in _so hard _that Cye had heard him. That was something that hadn't happened since Kento had gotten separated from Cye when they were kids.

The younger Kento had gotten lost and their (Torrent and Hardrock's,) three worst enemies at the time - Kenji, Li, and Takeo, - ganged up on him. He kept his guard up until they threw a couple of cheap shots that made the child fall, leaving him vulnerable. The younger Cye had been looking for him when he had heard that mental cry for help. He dashed towards the way he thought that it was coming from and the three had retreated, but not without hurting the younger Hardrock more than they should have.

Come to think of it, this wasn't that much different.

Well, with the exception of the whole armor thing, 400+ year old warlords, and weapons. Kento was lost again, with three of their worst enemies hurting him. Except this time, there wasn't anything that Cye could do. He had no idea where his friend was, and he couldn't find him to save his life.

Torrent reached under the bed and pulled out an old panda, hugging it tightly. This small, old panda had always brought comfort to Hardrock when he needed it, and right now, Cye needed comfort more than anything.

_(C-Cye?)_

Torrent shot up on the bed, still clutching the stuffed animal, eyes wildly darting around the room. He felt Kento's presence in the room, almost as if he were sitting right there next to him. _What the bloody hell...?_

_(C-Cye? You there?)_

_(Kento? Is it really you? Oh God, are you all righ_t_?!)_

_(It's me buddy, 'n...no, 'm not...I hurt all over Cye)_

_(What'd they do to you? Wait a minute, how am I talking to you?)_

_(S'armor)_

_(What?)_

_(My armor's lettin' me talk to you)_

It made some sense, since the armors did technically link the Ronins together. Cye accepted this answer and continued.

_(Where are you?)_

_(In a cell.....the castle's ne_w._..I dunno how...)_

_(Don't worry about that right now. What did they do to you?) _Torrent asked_._

_('Nubuis, Kale, 'n Secmet have been...h'rtin' me.....God Cye, I hurt all over...s'hard to breathe....)_

_(Why is it hard to breathe Kento?)_

_(Think they....broke my ribs...or somethin'...)_

Cye cursed mentally_. (What about Dais? Is he even there?)_

_(He's h-helpin' me....taking care...of me...)_

Cye thought for a moment feeling a little relieved. Then he dared to ask what he had on his mind.

_(Why were you so afraid earlier?)_

_(W-w-what?)_

_(Kento, you know I felt it, so tell me...why were you so scared earlier that I could hear your call for help?)_

Kento didn't answer, but Cye knew he was still there_._

_(Kento?)_

_(Don't tell the others...please?)_

_(All right Kento, I won't. This will be between just you and me)_

_('Nubuis....he tried to_ _rape me-)_

_(WHAT?!)_

_(Don't shout! The warlords chained me to a table....and Anubius tried to cut my jeans off so he could....but_ _Dais stopped him.)_

Cye swore under his breath_. (Those damn warlords...)_

_(C-Cye.....can't talk much longer_..._so...tired...)_

Torrent panicked. (_Kento! Just hang on a little longer, we're looking for you! We'll rescue you, I promise! Just please_, _please live!)_

A pause. Then Hardrock stammered his answer_. _

_(I'll....I'll try Cye...miss you...guys_....)

Then Torrent couldn't feel his friend's presence anymore. He was all alone again.

The young warrior curled up on the bed once more, hugging the stuffed panda. He looked at a picture frame on Kento's nightstand, tears building up.

The picture was one that had been taken shortly after Talpa's last defeat. The five of them had gone to their favorite restaurant, with Mia at the time, and she had snapped the picture when Kento had tried to snitch some of Sage's food, the bearer of Halo looking like he was about to slap Hardrock uptop the head, Rowen sipping his milkshake, Ryo taking a bite of his burger, and Cye just looking amused about the whole thing.

Torrent just let the tears fall as he sobbed quietly. He feared the worst for his friend, the person he had grown up with since they were seven, the person who had been his only friend until they met the other Ronin Warriors.

The tears continued to fall long after the warrior had fallen asleep_**..**_...

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Sage looked over the landscape using his binoculars. This wasthefourth day and still nothing was showing up on any part of land that the four had searched.

Currently, Sage was in Sendai, looking for a weak spot in the barrier, around where he and Kento had been tricked into fighting one another back in the first war. He hadn't found much, and probably wouldn't for the rest of the time.

Sage removed the binoculars, about to head back to his forest green convertible, when he suddenly heard an annoying voice he never thought would be there.

"SAAAAAGIIEEEEEE!!!"

Halo turned to see the most annoying, shrillest, flirtiest girl that was in his so-called, "fan club". Her name was Mika, a stereotypical, dumb, blonde cheerleader at Han'a High School. She was probably Sage's biggest fan, for she thought that everything he did was perfect and it drove him…insane wasn't quite strong enough to describe what he actually thought.

Mika latched onto Sage's arm, squeezing with a pressure never experienced before by man. "What are you doing here Sagie-wagie?" she asked, in that stupid cutesy tone that Halo absolutely hated.

"Mika." The warrior tried to keep the venom out of his voice and get rid of her politely. "I'm looking for my friend, he's been hurt and I haven't been able to find him. So right now, I can't have you on my arm, asking me all the questions you ask. So please, let go of me so that I can look around." He had to lie a little, because he obviously couldn't tell her what he was really looking for.

Mika just looked up at him, a blank look on her face. Then, she finally spoke. "Oh, c'mon Sagie, come have some fun with me! Your friend's not going anywhere-"

One could see the rage that Sage was repressing.

"-so come with me and leave him! He'll find some way to be okay, or your other friends will find him-"

Then, all Hell broke loose.

"MIKA!!!!!!" Halo shouted, wrenching himself away from her grip. "I CAN'T LEAVE HIM! I'm NOT coming with you anywhere, my other friends can't find him, and HE'S NOT OKAY!!!!!! So just, get outta here and go find some other guy to be your boy-toy!!!"

Mika just stared at him with that blank expression on her face, and then skipped away, singing happily the entire way.

Sage couldn't believe this_. How the hell does she do that? I just basically told her she's a slut and_ _she's just happy__**! **_

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The warlords looked down on the table that Hardrock lay on, inspecting the newly inflicted wounds, three out of four satisfied.

Kale, Anubius, and Secmet had gotten bored again, so they had pulled Kento out of the cell and re-shackled him to the table, except this time, they broke one of his wrists before pinning him down. Unfortunately, Dais had had to join in as well. He could only manage to give the poor boy a few bruises, but because of the illusion spells that Dais wove, the other warlords thought he did worse. Plus, they couldn't see the bandages that kept the injuries from getting infected.

"Boyo, I'm going to ask you once more, what is this power you've been hiding?!" Kale yelled at Hardrock, pounding on the table.

Kento didn't answer.

"Dammit, this isn't working any better than when we first started," Secmet stated. "Well, no duh," Anubius said. "Just look at him and see if this torture method is working!"

Kento's breathing was coming out in short, raspy breaths, his eyes were unfocused and he was half-unconscious.

"Now what do we do? Do we kill him?" Kale asked.

Dais sucked in a breath. _There's gotta be some way I can get him outta here_, he thought. Suddenly, an idea struck.

"Nah, killing him would be too merciful right now," Anubius said. "But, then again, maybe it's not."

"I have a better idea," Dais spoke up. "Why don't we just watch him die?"

The others looked suspiciously at him. Dais continued. "Instead of killing him, which is much too merciful for the whelp, why don't we dump him off in a place that will make his suffering longer and more painful? I can even weave a few sight spells so that we can watch everything."

Kale considered this. "That sounds like a bit of fun," he answered. "It's also an interesting twist. We'll leave the job to you to find a place for him. When you're done, we'll be in our quarters_**."**_

-----------------------------------------

Kento lay on his side, trying not to whimper in pain as Dais removed the bandages that had been wrapped around his injuries. The warlord was working on his bound up arms, which were covered in gashes. While he worked, Kento looked at something behind Dais, which was gleaming in the dim light.

Secmet had come to him earlier (before Dais could make it back to the cell to prepare Kento and fill him in on what was happening,) and had given the hurt warrior an offer_._

_/Secmet entered the cell, a beautifully decorated dagger in his hand. Kento could only direct his eyes upwards, due to the loss of blood and lack of food. "W-what do you w-want…s-s-snake……" _

"_You make it sound like I'm a bad person," the Warlord of Venom said, sounding offended. "I only come to you with an offer from Kale, Anubius, and I." He threw the dagger across the cell, where it landed within reaching distance from where Hardrock lay. "You can either make your suffering long and painful, or short and sweet. Either escape or suffering." He turned and left the cell, but not before saying this.  
"Suffering will only bring shame to your other Ronin friends. They'll think that you're not much of anything when you get back…if they_ _even find you." /_

Kento was seriously considering taking that offer. It sounded like it would just be easier to take it and face all the shame of not being able to break out of the newly built castle himself.

Dais let go of the warrior's hurt arm and began to work on the bandages wrapped around his stomach. He didn't notice when the hurt warrior reached for the dagger, but _did_ see it when he brought it to his broken wrist.

"What in the seven hells do you think you're _doing_?!" Dais exclaimed, grabbing the hand that held the dagger, enough to restrain, but not hurt him. Kento shook his head. "Can't anymore Dais," he answered. "The guys…they'll hate me…."

The warlord snatched the dagger and threw it across the cell. "I don't know what's gotten into you Hardrock, but they won't hate you," he sneered. "They're your friends and they could never despise you. I know Wildfire and Torrent have proved that enough times, and Halo and Strata have even showed their loyalty to you."

Kento just shook his head, tears forming. "They'll hate me fur sure," he said, his words beginning to slur somewhat. Dais took this moment to disagree. "They will not," he told the younger warrior, taking him into his arms, holding him reassuringly. "They would never do that to you. They want to find you, they're doing everything in their power to do so. You've endured far too much to just give up now. I promised you that I would help, and I will, until your friends find you. Just remember that your friends are doing everything they can for you."

Kento let this settle in his mind for a minute. Then he remembered all the sadness he had felt coming from Torrent, remembered the looks on Ryo, Rowen, and Cye's faces before the warlords had brought him to the new castle. He remembered the pleading look on Sage's face, begging him not to give up.

But the last thing he remembered was what broke his heart and made him realize that Dais was right.

/_C-Cye.....can't talk much longer...so...tired..._

_Kento! Just hang on a little longer, we're looking for you! We'll rescue you, I promise! Just please, please live!_

_I'll....I'll try Cye...miss you...guys..../_

Tears formed and began to run in tiny rivers down his face. He buried his face into Dais' shoulder, sobbing. The Warlord of Illusions had a surprised look on his face, but it softened as he comforted the injured warrior. "It's all right now," he softly said, cradling the injured warrior. "Just rest and you'll be home soon with your friends, where you belong."

----------------------------------------

Hardrock began to emerge from his deep sleep when he noticed that it was colder than usual. _Much_ colder. He opened his eyes and looked up to see that he was in Dais' arms again.

Dais smiled. "Good, you're awake," he said, taking out a blanket and wrapping it around the freezing warrior. "Wh'r we?" Kento tried to ask. "We're on a mountain, the others got bored, so I was told to dump you off here," Dais answered.

"Why?" Kento asked. "Don't you remember me telling you any of this?" asked Dais. Hardrock shook his head. "They decided that you really didn't know about 'the power' that they wanted, so they wanted to kill you. I managed to convince them to dump you off somewhere so they could watch you die instead."

Kento looked confused and horrified at the same time. "I said that so they wouldn't kill you," Dais told him. "So, I get to put you somewhere, but instead of going straight back, I'm going to help your friends."

He carefully scooped Kento into his arms and stood. "You know, you were a heavy sucker a few days ago. You've lost a lot of weight, Hardrock." Kento curled up in Dais' arms, despite all the pain that he felt, as the bearer of Illusion tried to find a place to put the injured warrior. He finally found a spot and laid Hardrock onto the snow.

"There you go," he said. "And I'm very sorry that this had to happen." He snapped his fingers and the blanket that was wrapped around Kento vanished. He inspected a long gash that went across/downwards on the warrior's chest. "This is a pretty nasty infection," Dais said, placing a finger next to the wound. Hardrock winced in pain. "Sorry," Dais apologized, taking his hand away. "S'okay," Hardrock managed to weakly whisper. Dais frowned. "Be strong Hardrock, your friends will be here soon. Just try to stay awake for as long as you can, okay?"  
"I...I'll t-t-try..." Kento said weakly, shivering. "Dais?"

"Yes, what is it?"

"What happened to...my orb?"

Dais reached into the bag on his shoulder, and pulled out Kento's crystal, showing it to its owner. "I'm going to use this to help the others find you," Dais told him. "I'll give it to Torrent and tell him that you're here, he might trust me."

Kento nodded weakly. "Thanks for keeping it…safe...for me..." he said, smiling a little. "You're welcome," Dais said, vanishing.....

_**----------------------------------**_

_Where could he possibly be? _Torrent thought, pulling his jacket around him tighter. _We've looked everyplace that we can possibly think of._

The search had led all the remaining Ronins northwards, near the coldness of the mountains. They had been searching the forests around the bases of the mountains, but hadn't found a single thing to help them.

Suddenly, Cye heard some twigs snap off in the distance. He turned to see a figure approaching, but he couldn't tell who it was.

"Who are you?! Show yourself!" Torrent exclaimed, getting into a defensive stance. But much to his surprise, the Warlord of Illusions came out of the shadows and presented himself.

"Dais?" Cye asked, letting his guard down. "What are you doing here? Wait a minute, if you're here, then…oh no. Kento, he's…"

"No, but if he's not properly treated soon, then yes, he will die," Dais answered. "I've come to tell you were he is. Or rather, show you."

An illusion of a mountainous region blanketed in snow surrounded the young Torrent. He saw, not too far from were he stood, the injured warrior he was seeking, curled up, trying to keep himself awake and warm.

"Kento!" Cye called out, forgetting that the whole thing was just a mental picture. He was about to run to the illusion version of Kento when it all disappeared.

_(It was just an illusion Torrent,) _Dais reminded him. "Can you tell me where he is?" asked Cye. The old warlord shook his head. "But I can give you this."

He tossed a small crystal to the younger warrior, who in turn, caught it and inspected it. His eyes widened when he realized who it belonged to.

"This is Kento's orb," Cye said quietly, holding the small crystal as if it were a precious jewel. But he looked at it closer and saw it was glowing faintly.

"When the glow becomes stronger, you'll find Hardrock nearby," Dais said. He turned away, his face hidden from Cye. "I-I can't help you anymore Torrent. But, please know that I did my best to help him while they did what they were ordered."

With that, the old Warlord of Illusions vanished…

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New chapter done with! Hope you guys liked it! Now I've got another crisis to deal with the other story, whether I want to just post it here as an extension, or post it as a different story. Hmm…gonna have to think about that one.

Anyway, review please! I would love to hear what people think =D


	5. Author's Note

Author's Notes

This is just to let everyone know! The story's almost over! I couldn't really start a brand new story for these next two chapters, because it would seem odd to do so. So I decided to just put them here, and people might actually come back here ^^;

~Revolutionary Venom


	6. Chapter 6

I originally had this as a separate story, but:

1) I couldn't think of a good title for it

2) It would sound better for it to come right after the story that's already in action, don'tcha think?

So, after some massive editing, here it is. The original separate story, added on to here =D

(_armor bond speaking)_

Disclaimer: I don't own the Ronin Warriors. Never have, never will

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"Kento! Kento! Where are you?!" Cye called out, running through the snow that blanketed the mountain, Kento's slightly glowing orb gripped tightly in one of his hands. Suddenly, he tripped and fell face first into the snow.

_Great, now I have a face full of powder,_ he thought.

"Cye! You okay?"

Cye looked up and saw Sage. "Have you found him yet?" Cye asked as Sage helped him up out of the snow. "No, not yet. Have you found anything?" Torrent shook his head. "Not a thing," he said. Sage sighed. "There's got to be a faster way to find him. I just hope Ryo and Ro-"

"Look over there!" Cye exclaimed, noticing something golden in the sky. Sage looked and saw the gold streak across the atmosphere. His eyes widened when he realized what it was. "That's Rowen's arrow!" he said.

"C'mon, they must've found him!" Cye declared, running towards the area the arrow originated from, pocketing the orb. "Wait, Cye!!" Sage shouted, running after him.....

---------------------------------------------

When Sage and Cye found Ryo and Rowen, they were not expecting to see the shape that their missing comrade was in.

Ryo was helping Kento sit up in his unconscious state, the injured teen shivering wildly. Blood stained the tatters of his shirt that remained, deep gashes decorated his arms, stomach, and shoulders, bruises marred his face, and tiny rivers of blood ran from his hairline. His eyes were turning that of an eggplantish color, his left one swollen.

Cye found it difficult to move his legs, but somehow he managed to find his way next to his best friend, kneeling. He scooped Kento out of Ryo's arms and into his own, tears falling the whole time.

Sage kneeled on the other side of Hardrock, pulling out a blanket that was stored in his backpack. He wrapped it around the injured warrior, saying, "We need to get him to a hospital." When he finished wrapping the blanket around him, they were about to take him away when they heard Kento moan.

"Ken-chan?" Cye asked, Rowen kneeling next to him. Kento moaned again, his eyes fluttering open. He looked up to Torrent. "C-c-cye?" he asked weakly, looking scared. He tried to squirm away, but Cye held him steady. "Don't move buddy, you're too weak right now," he instructed. Kento stopped wriggling, but he still looked scared. "It's okay now Kento, there's no reason for you to be scared. You're not in the Dynasty anymore, you're amongst friends."

Kento seemed comforted by that statement and calmed down. "That's right lil' buddy," Rowen said. "Don't worry about a thing, just don't go to sleep okay?"

Kento shook his head slightly. "S-so tired..." he said, his eyes closing. "Wanna s-s-sleep...just for a...m-minute or two....."

"Kento! Snap out of it!" Ryo exclaimed, slapping Kento across the face a few times. "Don't you _dare_ go to sleep now! If you do, you might not wake up again, ya'hear?"

Kento just stared at him for a moment before saying anything. "Please don't Kento," Cye pleaded.

Hardrock turned to him. " 'M s-sorry guys...." he said, his eyes trying to close. " 'M s-s-so tired and…c-c-cold...." He attempted to bury his face into Cye's shoulder, looking for warmth.

"Kento!" Rowen exclaimed, jerking Hardrock's head away and slapping him. "Don't do this Kento! Don't go to sleep!" But Kento just ignored this and fell into a deep sleep, going limp against Cye.

"Dangit Kento!" Ryo cursed at him. He took Hardrock away from Cye and stood up. "Let's get him outta here before he freezes to death!" Ryo exclaimed. The remaining Ronins got up and all ran towards the base of the mountain......

-----------------------------------------

Upon arrival of the hospital, Kento had been rushed into the ER. The doctors had decided that Hardrock would need a blood transfusion, so Ryo had followed them in. That had been a while ago and the remaining hadn't heard anything.

Ryo came into the waiting room the Ronins were in, looking tired and pale. "Ryo, you're back," Rowen stated, looking up. Cye and Sage looked up at Wildfire. "Howya feeling?" Halo asked, coming up to Ryo. "Alright I guess," Ryo said, holding a hand to his head. "It was different though."

"Ryo?" Rowen questioned. "Why don't you sit down?" Rowen led Ryo to the chair he had been sitting in and Ryo sat. "Did the doctors give you anything after the transfusion?" Sage asked. Wildfire shook his head. "They didn't give me anything," he said. "I thought they were supposed too, but no."

"I think there's a vending machine down the hall," Sage said. "I'll go get you a soda. You'll feel better."

"Thanks," Ryo said. Sage left the room, leaving Strata and Torrent wanting to ask about what happened in the ER, but holding back at the same time.

Finally, after a few minutes, one couldn't hold back anymore

"Did you hear anything about Kento while you were in there?" asked Cye. "Not really," Ryo answered, closing his eyes.

"What do you mean 'not really?'" Sage questioned, walking through the door with a can of soda in hand. He gave it to the leader, who in turn, opened it and talked.

"Well, all they told me was that he was going to have to go to X-rays, or the OR, depending on how bad his injuries are," Ryo said. "They said not to worry, and that they would do everything they could to help."

Silence took over. They really didn't know what to say that could lighten the mood of this situation. Sure, this wasn't the first time that they had been to a hospital after something happened, but this wasn't like those times.

Sage looked to his side at Cye and noticed something about the warrior. Cye was shaking slightly, looking petrified.

"Cye?"

Torrent looked at Sage. "You okay?" Halo asked. Cye shook his head. "Hey, the doctors said that everything would be fine, you shouldn't be scared," Rowen assured him.  
"I can't help it," Cye said. "Seeing Kento the way he was back at the mountain....it's hard to say that everything will be okay when you've seen a person like that..." Tears began to build in his sea green eyes.

"Hey, it's gonna be okay," Rowen said. Sage wrapped an arm around Cye's shoulders in comfort. "Don't worry Cye, everything _will_ be all right, just have some faith," Halo told him. "Yeah, Kento's been through worse, he'll pull out of this okay," Ryo said.

Cye stared off into space, not speaking. "Cye?"

Torrent looked up to Sage, crystal tears coursing down his face. "Sage..." Cye choked out before falling into Halo's waiting arms, sobbing.

Ryo and Rowen felt horrible because all they could do was watch as Sage comforted Cye. He held onto Sage's shirt, as if his life depended on whether he let go, and sobbed. "Why Sage?" he asked. "Why did this have to happen? Why?" Sage held Cye, speaking softly. "I don't know little buddy," he answered. "Don't worry, everything's gonna be fine..." He stroked Cye's hair, continuing to reassure the distressed young warrior, and when Torrent's knees finally buckled, Halo lowered him to the floor.

Finally, silence took over as the young Torrent fell into a deep sleep. "Is he asleep?" asked Ryo. Sage nodded. "Yes, so we better be quiet," he said. "Cye really needs to rest more than anything right now....."

--------------------------------------------

Much time had passed, the Ronins falling asleep one-by-one. Not a word about Kento had reached their ears and as the duration period grew, so did their many worries, theories of what had happened in the Dynasty, and what possibilities were lying behind the cold, steel doors that led to the ER.

Ryo was awakened by an older doctor shaking his shoulders. Ryo rubbed the sleep away from his eyes. "You awake son?" the doc asked. "Yes sir," Wildfire answered, yawning.

"Did you four come in with a Kento Rei Faun?"

Ryo became fully alert. "Yes sir, we did....Is he okay?"

"Your friend is very, very lucky that he survived," the doctor said. "He was stabbed twice around his midsection. Miraculously, whatever the object that was used to stab him didn't hit any organs. A deep and rather long gash is infected-"

"How bad was it to begin with?"

The doctor sighed and pointed to his left shoulder. "It started here and wasn't too deep, which is a good thing-" He traced an invisible line downwards and ended up pointing to where his appendix was. "-and got deeper as it got down here. Unfortunately, your friend wasn't so lucky that time, whatever gave him the gash hit his appendix and we had to remove it as a precaution for later events."

Ryo looked confused. "So you gave him an appendectomy in case something else happened?" he asked.

"Yes," the doc continued. "We did this as a precaution. Hypothetically speaking, in case the appendix became infected from something that could've been on the knife _after_ his body started to heal, and considering how tired and weak Rei Faun is already, performing an appendectomy would've been too tough on him. That, and we wouldn't have the blood to replace his own because there is a shortage on his type, which is why we asked you to donate in the first place."

Ryo rubbed his eyes again. "Makes sense, I guess," he said. "Anything else I should know about?"  
"Well," the doctor said. "A case of hypothermia, a broken wrist, cracked and bruised ribs, but other than that, just some bruises, stitches, and scratches everywhere else." He turned to leave. "You can see him, but he's in ICU."

"What?!"

The doctor turned to face Ryo again. "He's in ICU because of the infection," the older man told Wildfire. "If his fever doesn't get any higher or if complications don't arise, then he'll be just fine and will be moved to a private room in the morning."

"What if his fever stays where it is until then?"

"That's not very likely," the doctor assured him. "We've given him medicine that _should _bring his fever down in a few hours, and he's on sedatives. Until the medicine wears off, he will probably be too out of it to really speak or think. If he wakes up, I want all of you to try and coax him back to sleep, he really needs it."

The doctor was leaving, but stopped at the waiting room door. "You know, he's really lucky to have friends like all of you. Not many people who come in the ER talk about their friends and how great they are when we're talking to them."

Ryo stood there, somewhat dumbfounded. "I don't understand."

"We were talking to him, keeping him from falling asleep so we could keep him from slipping. All he talked about was how great all of you are." the doctor chuckled a little. "He talked about how Date-san's hair defies gravity."

Ryo smiled. _That's Kento for you,_ he thought. _Always cracking jokes about Sage's hair. _"Thank you for taking care of him," Ryo said. The doctor smiled, leaving the waiting room....

------------------------------------------

The others had been awakened by Ryo's news and all had rushed to ICU to see Kento.

Rowen laid his hand on the door knob to the ICU room and was about to open it when Cye started to whimper. Strata, as did Ryo and Sage, looked to Cye. "What's wrong?" asked Sage. " 'M scared," Torrent whimpered. "I'm scared of what I'll see, I can't help it. It's something that has always haunted me since my mother started having heart trouble."

"You don't have to go in there right away," Ryo assured him. He placed a hand on Cye's shoulder. "If you want, you can stay out here and someone will stay w/you." Torrent looked to him. "Really?" he asked. "Of course," Sage told him. "I'll stay w/you," Rowen told Cye. "Really Rowen?" Torrent asked. "You would?"

"Of course I will little buddy," Strata said and winked. "You wouldn't wanna be alone, now wouldya?" Cye smiled. "Thanks Ro."

"Okay, Sage you ready?" Ryo asked. Sage nodded. Ryo turned back to Cye. "We'll tell you what he looks like when we come out, and if you want to, you can go in. Sound okay?" he asked.

Torrent nodded. "Thank you Ryo," he thanked. "It's not a problem," Wildfire assured him, Rowen opening the door for Ryo and Sage. The two entered and Rowen closed the door.....

--------------------------------------------

As the door closed behind Sage and Ryo, all the two warriors could do was stare in shock at what was before them.

Though it was mostly dark in the room, they could see Kento was lying in the hospital bed, monitors of all kinds hooked up to him, covered by several blankets, bandages wrapped around his chest and left shoulder that were showing a little through the hospital gown, a cast on his left arm while IV's, full of blood and painkillers, were being taped down to secure them from being pulled out on his right hand. A clear oxygen mask covered most of his face, stitches traced their way on random places on his face, and a single piece of gauze was taped down to left side of his forehead.

"Oh my God..." Sage said. "Ryo, I know you said the damage was bad, but I didn't know it was _this_ bad." They both made their way to either side of Kento's bed. "Poor guy," Ryo said. "It looks like the infection's really gettin' to him."

Upon closer inspection of the injured warrior, one could tell that Kento was indeed in pain. His eyebrows were knitted together and his teeth clenched, the expression on his face looking as if he were concentrating heavily on something. Sweat glistened on his brow as if he had been working hard.

Ryo spotted a nightstand next to the bed and saw a bowl of cold water and a compress. He picked the compress up and wrung the extra water from it. "This might help some," he said, starting to sponge Kento's face while being careful of the stitches.

Sage thought for a second when an idea struck him. "Ryo, let me see that," he said, holding his hand out. Ryo looked puzzled, but handed him the cloth anyway.

Halo closed his eyes and concentrated. His kanji appeared faintly on his forehead, the compress beginning to glow a faint green color. After a few seconds, Sage's kanji disappeared and Halo placed the still-glowing fabric upon Kento's brow. "I don't get it," Ryo said, still puzzled, staring at the cloth. "Just watch," Sage told him. Wildfire obeyed and watched the compress.

The cloth continued to glow faintly, but something else was beginning to shine through it. Ryo realized when he saw the color that the light shining through it was Kento's own kanji coming to surface. The second that Ryo could see 'Justice' clearly enough, the kanji and the green glow vanished. Kento's eyebrows undid themselves and his face relaxed.

"You healed him?" asked Ryo. Sage shook his head. "He's beyond that right now," he answered quietly. "All I could do was help a little. I made his infection vulnerable enough to where the medicines will be able to help him sooner than the doctors thought-"

He would've continued if the two of them hadn't of heard what they thought they heard.

Another sleepy moan escaped from under the oxygen mask as Hardrock's eyes fluttered. "I'll get Cye and Rowen," Ryo said, going to the door. As Wildfire did that, Kento continued his struggle to open his eyes. Sage watched as Kento's eyes fluttered open and looked up at Halo, his dark blue eyes glazed over, thanks to the medication that had been pumped into his system.

_(Sage?) _he asked. (_Where are....the others?)_

"We're right here," Cye answered, as he, Rowen, and Ryo made their way next to Kento. Cye took a hold of Kento's hand. "Hey, you need to go back to sleep Ken-chan," Torrent said, his voice shaky.

_(What…happened?) _Kento asked, looking up at all of them.

"You got beat up real bad, remember?" asked Rowen. Hardrock tried to think through the hazy cloud that blocked his memory. (_Sorta...)_ he finally answered. (_I wuz...in the Dyn'sty....?)_

"Hey, don't worry about remembering it right now," Sage told him. "Right now, you mister, need rest, so you should go back to sleep, is that clear?"

Even though Kento couldn't talk with the oxygen mask on, he could still do one thing he did best.

He gave a smile.

_(Crystal,)_ he answered, his eyes half-open. He looked up to Cye. (_Don't be sad,)_ Kento told him. (_Ev'rythin's....okay now....)_ With that, Kento fell asleep....


	7. Chapter 7

FIRST OFF! I don't know what doctors, nurses, or anyone else calls those tubes that patients have to have sometimes when admitted to hospitals. So…I had to improvise ^^;

) _sub-conscious thoughts _(

/_dreams/_

_thoughts_

Disclaimer: I don't own the Ronin Warriors. Never have, never will

-----------------------------------------------------------

"Hey Cye, do you want to come home with us?" Ryo asked.

Torrent looked up from his book and shook his head. "I'll stay here in case Kento wakes up again," he answered.

It was well into the morning now. As expected, Kento's temperature lowered itself to normal ranges (mostly thanks to Sage's help), and he was taken out of ICU into a private room. This time around, however, an oxygen mask and most of the monitors were not needed, but the doctors explained that Kento still required an oxygen tube up his nose.

The others had left to get some lunch for everybody, and Cye had stayed behind. He sat in a chair next to Kento's bed as the warrior in it slept peacefully, like he had all night and pretty much all morning.

Cye looked up from his book again and at the clock on the wall. _Geez, time passes slowly here,_ he thought, closing his book and putting it on the nightstand next to him. _It's 11:30, but it doesn't seem like it._

A moan came from the injured warrior in the bed. Cye looked at him in wonderment. Kento's eyes fluttered and slowly opened themselves to look upon the world. His eyes finally fell upon Torrent. "Cye?" he asked weakly, trying to rub his eyes with his left hand.

"Hey, how ya feeling buddy?" Cye asked, leaning towards the bed. "Sleepy?" Kento answered, unsure of what he felt at the moment. He looked around the room, in a daze. "Wher'm I?" he asked, his speech somewhat slurring.

"You're at the hospital, remember?" Cye asked. "We found you last night and brought you here." Torrent felt sad as he watched his still somewhat sedated friend just stare off into space.

Suddenly, Hardrock tried to sit up. "Whoa there mate, you shouldn't try to do that," Torrent said, gently putting a hand on his friend's chest and guiding him back downwards.

"Why?" asked Kento, confused as he lay back down. "You cracked and bruised your ribs real bad," Cye answered, pulling the blankets up over Hardrock a little more. "Plus, you have gashes, stitches, and shallow stab wounds. You shouldn't try to sit up for a while, or you could hurt yourself real bad and not even really mean to."

Kento nodded, and looked to the window, a look of sadness in his somewhat glazed eyes.

_He looks so sad, _Cye thought. _But I guess being tortured_ _in the Dynasty like he was would make a person depressed. He didn't just have his energy sucked out of him, like last time anyway, back during the wars..._

"Cye?"

Torrent snapped away from his thoughts. "What is it Kento?" he asked. "Do you need something?"

"Can you…open the curtains?" Kento asked, still staring at the closed window. Cye got up from his seat, went around the bed, and pulled the drapes apart. "Is this better?" asked Torrent. "Yea, thanks Cye," Hardrock said, a melancholy tone in his voice. Cye came back to the bed and took back his seat next to Kento.

Silence took over. And this wasn't the everyday kind. This was more of an awkward/uncomfortable silence because Cye didn't really know what to say to make Kento feel better.

_What does one say to another after something terrible happens, especially in the case of the Ronin Warriors?_ It was something Cye often wondered; Ryo was never comforted by anything any of the others ever said to him whenever he was having an "angsty" week, which only really occurred when the wars were going on. Sage never really opened up enough, at least, no one other than Rowen that Cye was aware of. And Rowen, well, unless he was speaking in technical chat or coming out with the "Captain Obvious" sayings, he never really got that upset about things, or at least, didn't show it. This was probably the first major thing as a group besides Talpa that everyone was depressed about.

"Cye?"

Torrent came out of his own thoughts when he heard a voice. "Yeah?"

"I was scared that I wasn't going to get out of there," Kento said, his voice getting stronger. "I was scared that I was gonna die there, by the same warlords that we defeated not too long ago." Tears appeared to be filling Hardrock's eyes. "I hadn't seen the sun shine until now, Cye..."

"I know Kento," Cye said, hands gripping at his jeans as he looked at his friend. "I know that you were tortured there, and I'm sorry that we couldn't do anything sooner..." his voice nearly broke and he felt the moisture of tears at the corners of his eyes. He bit his lip for a moment, to keep his composure. "…We searched everywhere for you, Kento. I'm so sorry that we didn't find you sooner. We tried everything we could think of to try to find you…but it wasn't enough…"

Hardrock turned his head and looked up to Cye, crystalline tears threatening to spill over. "I was so scared Cye," he simply said. He looked like a small child that had just fallen and scraped their knee and was about to cry; it made Cye want to make everything go away, like a parent would, but he knew he couldn't.

So, Torrent let go of the legs of his pants, and laid two fingers upon Kento's lips.

"Don't cry," he told Hardrock. "It's okay now Ken-chan, you don't have to worry about anything anymore. Just concentrate on healing your mind, your body, and soul. When you want to talk, we'll be there to listen."

Cye removed his fingers and wiped away Kento's tears. Hardrock smiled a little. "Thanks Cye."

"Not a problem, it's what I'm here for."

Kento looked back towards the window, just watching the sunlight come in, a sleepy, yet content look on his face. "You look like you could still use some rest," Torrent told him. Kento shook his head. "Nah, it's just the drugs," he said sleepily. "Hey Cye?"

"Yeah?"

Kento looked back at Torrent. "How exactly _did_ you guys find me?"

Cye would've answered, but...

*Click*

Cye and Kento looked at the doorway and saw it open to reveal Rowen, Ryo, and Sage with lunch!

"Hey sleepy-head," Rowen greeted, setting down a bag of lunch. "Did you have a nice rest?"

Kento smirked. "Look who's talking," he simply said. "HEY! I do it in the name of Science!" Rowen exclaimed, looking really mad, doing the typical anime pose. "Unfortunately, it's all true," Sage said, sighing. Rowen liked to stay up late, doing what he called "scientific discovery" when all he was really doing was reading any book he could get his hands on.

Ryo rolled his eyes. "Anyway," he began, as he put a bag down. "We got lunch for everybody!" Kento's eyes lit up. "Huzzah!" he simply cheered, smiling.

"Oh no, not for you," Rowen said, as he saw Kento trying to sneak into one of the closest plastic bags the others had brought in: Rowen had set it on the nightstand, so it was easily accessible for the injured warrior.

"What? Why?" Hardrock asked.

"Because the docs had to do a ton of stuff to you last night," Sage said. "Not limited to surgery."

"WHAT?!?!"

Sage attempted to continue. "They say that because your system is really weak and you need a lot of rest," he said. "And, the surgery you got was an appendectomy-"

"They took out my appendix?!?!"

This was going to be a lot to explain...

------------------------------------------

"...And that's the whole shebang," Ryo said. Kento looked glum. "What fun," he sarcastically said, picking up a nearby soda can. He tried to open it, but due to the fact that he had IV's in one hand and a cast on the non-dominant one, he had much trouble.

"Here, let me help you," Rowen offered, holding his hand out. Kento groaned and gave Rowen the soda. Strata then opened it with ease, setting it back down on the nightstand.

"There ya go buddy," he said. "Thanks," Kento said, embarrassed that he couldn't even open a damned tin can of soda. He sighed. "So I really can't eat?"

"Well," Sage coughed. "I didn't say that. It's just that we can't let you _eat_ by yourself."

It took a few seconds for that to sink into Kento's brain. When it did, he was madder than White Blaze on bath day.

"WHAT?! C'mon guys, I'm not that weak!"

-----------------------------------------------

Dais sat on his knees on the floor in his room of his dimly lit room, shaking.

_) Why didn't you help him Dais? ( _A voice inside his head asked. _) Why didn't you help Hardrock escape the proper way? (_

_Because....because that would've showed that I don't want to kill him. _

_) But you don't, now do you Dais? (_

_No....but I can't let the others know that, I'll be punished, even killed if I do!_

_) Quit living for something you don't even believe in anymore, Dais. Reform from what you once were! (_

_I...I can't -_

_) WHY DAIS?!?! TELL ME, WHY NOT!!!! (_

"I JUST CAN'T!!!!" Dais yelled aloud, holding his head. He sank farther onto the floor and cradled his head in his hands, his only eye shut tightly. "I can't ...I can't ever tell....I can't tell anyone....don't make me...please don't…"

---------------------------------------------------------

After getting Kento to eat a little bit of Jell-O by Cye's hand, Sage, Ryo and Rowen once again set off on a trip to go back to the house and get a few things so they could spend the night at the hospital, as well as some things that Kento might want.

Cye had gone back to his book and Kento lay back on the bed, watching TV, when he got a sudden familiar twinge. He slowly began to sit up when Cye looked up from his book. "Whoa there buddy, do you need something?" Torrent asked, trying to get Kento to lie back down. "I gotta go Cye," Kento simply stated.

It took a moment for this to register in Cye's mind, and when he did, he got a strange look on his face, daring to ask:

"1 or 2?"

Kento looked confused. "I just gotta go to the bathroom Cye, what's the big deal?"

Cye had a look of uncertainty on his face. "Well, uh, Kento," he said. "I don't know how to tell you this....the doctors put a catheter in you last night, sometime before you went into surgery."

Kento blushed, looking down at the sheets of the bed. "Do you want me to leave until you're done?" Torrent asked, feeling sympathetic for his friend. "No," Kento said, lying back down. "I've been embarrassed enough to last a lifetime, this just adds to the list."

Cye shook his head. "You shouldn't be ashamed," he said. "It's not like you're the only one who's ever had one of those awful things forced onto you. Remember when Rowen accidentally took an overdose of Tylenol during exams week earlier this year and had one?"

Kento nodded. "Yeah, I remember how he was complaining about how much it hurt. But I can't feel it."

"It's only because you have enough medicine to kill the pain your injuries are giving you right now. You probably don't feel it because of that."

Kento yawned and rubbed his eyes. "Try and get some rest now Ken-chan," Cye said, smoothing out the linen on the bed. "You really need to recover your strength."

Hardrock nodded and relaxed against the double pillows, falling into a deep sleep that wouldn't be disturbed.

Cye smiled sadly, got up and turned the TV off. _Poor guy, he's been through too much these last few days. _He walked over to the window and gazed upon the world outside. _I wonder what happened there. But I guess he won't want to talk about that for awhile yet. But still....what DID the warlords want with him?_

-------------------------------------

"What do you think they wanted him for?" asked Rowen, who was driving Kento's old suburban.

Sage looked out the window, watching the passing trees. "I think that's the question du jour right now," he said.

"What reason would there be for the warlords to capture him?" Ryo wondered aloud, poking his head up to the front seat. "I mean, does he know something we don't?"  
Rowen pulled up next to the house and they all got out. "I'm not sure," Sage answered, leaning against the front of the truck. "I mean, he doesn't have any special abilities, except for his amazing physical strength and stamina when fighting…and the fact that he can probably break a solid concrete brick with his head due to its thickness and all the judo/kung fu training he's had over the years. But why would any of that interest them?"

"Maybe there's something about Kento that we don't know," Ryo suggested.

"What do you mean?" asked Rowen, sitting on the hood of the suburban. "I mean, maybe he DOES have some kind of power," Ryo said. "We just don't know about it yet."

"You could be right Ryo," Halo said, thinking for a moment. "There are certain things that we've figured out about the armors, like Rowen can fly with his, or I can heal to a certain extent. But we haven't figured out too much about the Hardrock armor."

"I think you're overestimating him," Rowen said, getting off the hood. "If he had some kind of special powers, wouldn't we have known about it already?"

Sage shook his head. "Not necessarily," he said. "Yeah, we didn't know about Inferno until we needed it against Talpa that first time," Ryo pointed out.

Strata huffed and headed towards the house. "I still think you're overestimating him," he said. Sage shook his head as he and Ryo followed Rowen.....

-----------------------------------

_/"Cye?! Guys?! Where are you?!" Kento exclaimed. He ran and ran until his legs gave out from under him. He hit the ground hard, face-first. "Cye..." he managed to choke out, trying to get to his hands and knees. Tears began to build in his eyes. "Guys...__you said that none of you would leave me....I need help..."_

"_Kento!"_

_Kento looked around him. "Who's there?" he asked. Cye appeared, his back turned on Hardrock. "Cye?" Kento asked. "Is it really you?" _

_Torrent turned around and smiled to his friend. "Cye! It is you!" Kento exclaimed, getting up. He ran to his friend, Torrent embracing him in a hug. Tears of joy __cascaded down Hardrock's face. _

"_It's all right Kento," Cye said, an evil glint appearing in his eyes. "Cye, I was so scared," Kento said, hugging his friend. "I couldn't find anybody-"_

_His eyes grew wide and he gasped softly. Cye pushed Kento off of himself and smiled evilly._ _Kento looked down and saw his stomach was covered in blood. He slowly looked back up at Cye, clutching his abdomen. "W-why?" Kento asked, before falling to his knees, looking at the beautifully decorated dagger that Cye held onto. _

"_Because you killed all of us," four voices echoed. Sage, Rowen, and Ryo all appeared behind Cye. "You betrayed us first Hardrock," Rowen said. The skin of the four warriors began to melt, bones sticking out. "Why did you betray us?" asked Ryo. "Look what you did to us!" Sage exclaimed. "We trusted you," Cye said.  
Kento covered his ears and shut his eyes tight, trying to ignore them. "I didn't...I didn't do it..." he whispered. The four continued their verbal assault. Finally, Kento couldn't take anymore._

"_I DIDN'T DO IT!!! I DIDN'T KILL ANYONE!!!!!!/_

"Kento, wake up," Sage softly said. Kento rolled his head back and forth on the double pillows. "Dint do it...dint kill 'nyone..."

Sage picked up the compress that was sitting in a bowl on the nightstand, worried about what Kento was saying. "C'mon buddy, wake up," he said softly, trying to wake the disturbed sleeping warrior by using the compress to try and get rid of the sweat that glistened upon the fighter's brow.

Kento suddenly bolted upright, only to cry out in excruciating pain and fall back down on the bed. He hugged himself, breathing fast, trying to get rid of the horrible burning pain that reverberated from inside. His eyebrows knit themselves together, eyes shut tight, as he tried to rid himself of the pain. "Oh God..." he managed to choke out.

Trying not to panic, Sage gently laid a hand upon Kento's brow, while it began to glow. "It's okay Kento," Halo reassured him, as he sent a small burst of power into the injured teen to act as an instant painkiller. The glow disappeared from Sage and he took his hand away. Kento's eyebrows unknit themselves and a relaxed look came upon his face. He slowly opened his eyes, coming out of his daze. When he saw Sage, however, he became frightened, shutting his eyes, tears forming at the corners.

" 'M sorry Sage," his small voice managed to say. "I didn't mean to do it..." Sage looked confused. "What are you sorry for?" he asked. "Hurting you..." Kento answered, petrified.

Halo smiled softly and gently laid a hand on Kento's head. "Poor guy, you must've had a really bad dream," he told Kento. "It was just a nightmare Kento, it's all right now. Everyone is unharmed and well."

"Really?" Hardrock asked, opening an eye, sniffling. "See for yourself," Sage answered, motioning to the opposite side of the bed. Kento looked over on the floor and saw Ryo, Cye, and Rowen all in sleeping bags, asleep of course.

He let out a sigh of relief, relaxing against the pillows. "Feel better now that you're awake?" asked Sage, who once again took the compress to try to bathe Hardrock's face and wipe away the moisture of tears with the cool water. "Yeah," Kento said quietly, licking his dry, cracked lips.

"Thirsty?" asked Halo. Kento nodded. Sage put the cloth in his hand on the nightstand and reached for a bottle of water that sat next to the bowl that held the compress. He twisted that cap off and gave it to Kento. "Here, this should help," Halo said, as Hardrock took it and gulped what was in it. When he finished, there was nothing left in it.

"Thanks," Kento said, handing him the bottle. "You're welcome," he said, taking it and throwing it away. "By the way Kento, we got something for you today while we were out." Sage reached into a bag sitting on the floor and pulled out an old stuffed panda that looked like it had seen many years with its big, orange eyes.

Kento smiled as Sage placed the panda on the bed. "You guys brought me my old panda?" he asked, picking it up and hugging it.

"Yeah, well, Cye said that you would like it if we brought…Pingy?" Kento nodded. "…with us," Sage told him. "He said that we should give it to you when you woke up, but the others fell asleep."

Kento looked puzzled. "What time is it?"

"Well," Sage thought. "We got back at about three, and it's now twelve-thirty at night."

"Are you serious?!"

"Well, yeah. Why do you think everybody is asleep?"

Kento frowned. "Guess I was more tired than I thought," he said. "Don't worry about it," Sage told him. "You needed it, all you've really had is drug induced sleep so far-"

A noise emerged from where the three sleeping warriors were. "What was that?" asked Sage. "I dunno," Kento answered.

"I woke up, just like you have Sleeping Beauty."

Sage and Kento looked to the floor and saw Cye sitting up. "It's good to know that you did decide to wake up," Torrent said, getting up and making his way to the chair next to Kento's bed. He sat in the chair and smiled. "Feeling better?" he asked.

Kento nodded, but his expression grew grim. "What's the matter?" asked Sage. Hardrock hesitated to answer. "Kento?" Cye asked. "You okay?"

"Can I talk to you guys about the last few days?"

Torrent gave him a small smile and held Kento's hand, as if he were protecting him. "I told you that when you wanted to talk, we would listen," Cye told him. Sage picked up a can of Dr. Pepper and opened it. "Yeah, we're not going anywhere," he reassured Kento.

"Thanks guys. Well, the last thing I remember was that we were fighting the warlords. Then I remember....."

And so, Hardrock recounted his horrifying tale of being back in a place that he never thought would be in existence again, including the parts about Dais coming to the cell to give him food/medicine but excluding the part about Anubius wanting to rape him out of his mind. Every once in awhile, Cye or Sage would ask a question as they listened to Hardrock's tale. Things like, what the warlords did if Kento wasn't clear about some details. Or if he ever got the reason why they wanted him in the first place…but when they got to that, all Kento could say was "I…I'm not sure. They kept asking me about some power, but…I don't know what they're talking about."

Then, Sage had a few questions about Dais.

"Are you positive that it was him?" asked Sage. "Are you sure it wasn't the Ancient helping you?"

Kento nodded. "It couldn't have been the Ancient," he said. "He's gone, remember? He can't help in that way anymore."

"Well, I think it was a very noble thing for an enemy-'scuse me, former arch foe- to have done," Cye said. "But that's just my opinion." He looked up at the clock on the wall. "Oh goodness, it's almost three."

Sage and Kento looked up at the clock and saw that Torrent was right. "Gee, my tale didn't seem like it was that long," Hardrock commented, Sage stretching.

"I think I'm going to sleep now," Halo said, looking very tired. "Why don't you take my sleeping bag for the rest of the night?" Cye suggested. "You sure?" Sage asked. Cye nodded.

Halo got up, tossed his now empty Dr. Pepper can, and went around to the other side of the room, settling into Torrent's sleeping bag. "Good night," Sage said quietly, before fading off into sleep.

Kento yawned and rubbed his eyes. "I think you should get some more rest," Cye told him. "It seems that's all I do around here," Kento said, a smile on his face and a sleepy look in his eyes. As he began his descent into slumber, he managed to say, "Thanks...for listening...Cye....." And he was asleep.

Torrent smiled, reached into his pocket with his free hand, bringing out Hardrock's orb. He slipped the crystal into the sleeping warrior's hand, closing his fingers around it. "It's back where it belongs," Cye said, before laying his head down on the bed, falling into a peaceful sleep.......

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_**A week later....**_

"Think he's ready to finally go home?" Ryo asked Rowen. "I should think so," Strata said, the two getting off the elevator, a bag slung over his shoulder. "I just hope that he's not too anxious to eat solid foods yet," Ryo said. "I know, he still can't eat all he wants," Rowen commented.

The two walked onto Kento's room and opened the door to see Kento laying back, a nurse taking his vitals. "How's our patient today?" Rowen jokingly asked. The nurse and Kento looked to Wildfire and Strata. "Hey guys," Hardrock greeted warmly.

"Well, Rei Faun-san can leave when I take these IV's out," the nurse said, gently pulling away the tape that kept the IV's in their place. She took the needles out of his hand and threw them into a box on the wall labeled BIO-HAZARD.

"Ready to go home Kento?" Rowen asked. "Yeah, and I'm definitely not going to miss the food here," Kento joked. "Or the pajamas."

The nurse took one last look at Kento's vitals and put a Band-Aid over the spot where the IV's had been. "It looks like you're all set," she said. She took a small piece of paper, wrote something on it, and slipped it into Kento's hand, planting a kiss on his cheek. Kento blushed as she took the vital machine and left. She winked to him before she left.

"What was that about?" Ryo asked. Hardrock looked at the paper in his hand.

"What is it Kento?" Rowen questioned. "Her phone number," Kento said. "Well, looks like you've finally got yourself an admirer," Strata joked. "Geez, I thought for sure that she liked Sage," Kento said. "Oh well, now I can finally have a cutie to myself."

"Hey Romeo," Rowen said. "Let's get you dressed and go home okay?" Kento nodded, and with Ryo's help, sat up and got his legs over the side of the bed.

"How are you feeling without morphine?" asked Strata, as he pulled out some clothes from his bag. "Not too bad," Hardrock answered. "I miss the killing of pain that it does though. But there is a good thing that comes out of this entire thing without drugs!"

"What would that be?" asked Ryo.

"They take out the IV's and the catheter. I can eat by myself and pee freely. How good is that?" Kento asked, smiling a big goofy grin.

"Ooookay, I think someone's feeling like they still need drugs," Rowen stated, placing a pair of black jeans on the bed, holding a shirt up. "And that's why we'll get you some later. But for now, let us help you get dressed."

"Why do you guys need to help me?"

"It's so you won't accidentally reopen your wounds or hurt yourself," Ryo told him, unbuttoning the pajama shirt that Kento was wearing, revealing the bandages beneath. "C'mon buddy, pick up your arms."

And chaos ensued. The two Ronins helped Hardrock into a long sleeve, button-down shirt, not bothering to button it and into the jeans.

"This feels weird," Kento commented, once dressed. "How so?" asked Ryo. "These feel almost as if their too big for me," Hardrock told him, looking at himself in his clothes. "You just got thinner over this last week 'cuz you didn't get out of bed much or eat even half of what you normally do," Rowen told him. "And they _are_ a little big. But, when you start eating solid foods again, your body will fill itself back up again."

Ryo pulled up a wheelchair that had been sitting in the corner of the room. "All right amigo, time for your escort outta here," he said. They helped Kento into the chair, placing Pingy the stuffed panda on his lap. "All right!" Hardrock exclaimed, pointing at the door. "We're homeward bound!"

Ryo and Rowen: -_-;

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Kento sat in the front seat, staring out the window as Rowen drove. _I owe my life to you Dais,_ he thought. _If you hadn't of helped me, I wouldn't be here to see the world again. My friends probably would've found me dead in a ditch, or not at all. _Kento looked in the rear view mirror and saw Ryo, asleep in the back seat. Hardrock smiled and hugged the panda that sat on his lap. _But...still....what _were_ the warlords after?_

THE END…?

That's…pretty much it. Sorry you guys didn't get to find out about "the power" that Kento is supposed to possess, but this story doesn't end here. There will be more following this. This is just a stepping stone in what will be a saga =3

So if you enjoyed it, I would like some encouragement for the next bits of the story. Read/review!


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